Collapsible hull for light boats, floats for aircraft and the like



Oct. 27, 1931. R. J. H. HUDSON 1,828,805

COLLAPSIBLE HULL FOR LIGHT BOATS, FLOATS FOR AIRCRAFT, ANDv THE ,LIKE

Filed Aug. 8, 1930 Patented Oct. 27, 1931 RICHARD dorm HARRINGTONHUDSON, )OF LQNDONQE NG AND. i

' COLLAIFSIBLE. HULL non LIGHT BoA'rs, FLoA'rs r01; Automatic-Ann THLIKE A plication filed Angnst'ii, 1930, Serial no. 473,945, and in'Great Britainllugust 22,1929.

In my prior British specification No. 300,366 I have described a methodof constructing collapsible boats in which a pair of flexible sides arehingedalong their bot- 5 tom edges'to a rigid keel provided witha rigidstern and stem. post, the sides belng hinged together outwardly of therigid'stern and stem posts in amanner forming a flexible false stern andstemadapted to be rigidly coupled to the true posts when the boat iserected for use. r Y

The present invention has-for its object "to providejby a method ofconstruction analogous to that des'cribed'in my priorspecification animproved construction of float or hull or like floating body differingfrom the boat previously described principally as fol lowsz i I Thehullorfloat of thekind towhich the present invention relates is capableof being pr'ovidedwith a top deck preferably formed in two parts hingedabout a centre line so that when erected thedeck will lie across the topof the sides' and prevent the entry of water .25 when the device ismoving at speed.

' Thehull or float isintended to bebuilt generally on the lines followedin' the construction of speed boats,the keelbeing extended forwardlyin-a oontinuous curve which only makes a comparatively small angle withthe horizontal. Further, the

stem post described in my prior specification is preferably dispensedwith, the upper edgesof the sides of theboat meeting the lower edges ina comparativelysharp angle.

"The'pre'sent invention therefore provides for the construction of suchboats as aircraft floats, hulls for motor boats and like constructionsdiffering'from that described in my prior specification which morenearly resembled a dinghy or Whaler. i

The present invention therefore relates to collapsible hulls or floatshaving a keel or folding sides hinged thereto, and consists parts andhinged tosaid folding sides.

The invention further oonsists in'providing a construction in whichtheafter part of the said sides is cut away so that the upper and loweredges meet together at anangle;

primarily inproviding a deck formed in two,

The invention further consists ina-collapsv ter features are, however,notfnewperfse but are analogous tofeatures ofcons'tructi'on described inmy 'prior specific'ation'above referredto. 7 1 I 7 The invention'isillustrated in one form of execution 'in the accompanyin drawings whichshowa small motorboat, hutit-is'to be understood this. is by way ofeample only. r I

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 illustrates a side elevation'of a'inotor boat,

Fig.2beinga plan. Fig. 3 is a transverse section to, Fig. Q1, along theline III-III of Fig. 1, the boat beinghitherto illustrated in theerectedor open positionff 1i" i Fig. 4 is aside elevatiomsimilar to Fig;1, whenthe boatis collapsed, and" Fig. 5 is a transverse section to along'theline V V of Fig. {1, when the boat;

is collapsed.

Figs. 6, 7,8, 9, larged scale some of the joints. V

Turning now to the drawings, the form here illustrated comprisesastroiigkeelson 1 and stem 20f rigid solid'construction. The sides of the boat 3are hinged to the deck 4. by a series ofihiriges 5 'running'along thegunwale line 6. The sides 3 ,and deck 4 are." formed of flexible solidmaterial suchas thin planking laid diagonally or otherwise;'fplywoodsuch as is' already ,known in the ,construction of boats, or metalplate; and'the sides 3 are hinged to the keelson 1 by a series ofhinges17 lying along the straight. portion of the keelson, Figs. 1'andeh. [These 10 and'll show on an en 7. Forwardly of the keel,however, the sides The sides 3 and deck 4 are strengthened by are hingedby a series of straps 8, Figs. 8 and 9, comprising a rocking or flexiblestem, the said straps 8 carrying hinges 9 at either end and following incontinuation of the hinges 7 along the forward curved portion of thekeelson which forms the stem of the boat. i

It will be observed that the stem extends from the keelson in acontinuous curve projecting forwardly at a comparatively small, anglewith the horizontal in a manner usual in speed boats and hydroplanes.

The deck 4 is divided into two symmetrical parts each of which is hingedto a central strip 10 by a series of hinges 11, 12. In the formillustrated a cockpit is provided by removing a portionof the deck 4 andcentral strip 10 and fitting coamings 13. Folding props 14 and 15 areprovided to support the ec rigidly when the boat is erect, the saidprops being hinged at their lower ends to the upper edge of the keelson1 and their upper ends bearing against the under side of the centraldeck strip 10 when the boat is erect. Y

I A recess 16 is provided in the keelson to accommodate an engine. Afalse keel 17, which carries the rudder frame and tailshaft bearing 18is screwed to the keelson and the tail-shaft 19 passes from the recessedengine bed 16, through the keelson l and falsekeel 17' to the tail-shaftbearing in 18.

In collapsing the boat from the position illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and3, having removed the engine from its bed 16 but leaving intact thetail-shaft '19, the deck props 14 and 15 are knocked down. The shape ofthe side sheets and deck are such that the resilience of the sheets issuflicient to maintain the boat in its erect position, so that slightdepression along the centre of the deck is necessary to cause the boatto collapse. The centre strip 10 moves downwards and assumes theposition illustrated at 20 Fig. 4 lying along a straight line.

The two sides of the deck 4 hinged to the centre strip 10 fold withtheir upper surfaces inwards, and the coamings 13 round the cook it maymake contact as shown in Fig. 5. At t e same time, the sides of the boat3, hi d by the series of hinges 5 to the deck 4 a ong the gunwale lines6, are drawn in wards and rotate about the hinges, 7 and 9 finallyassuming the folded positions shown in Figs. 4 and 5. sides 3 causes thesheets to flatten out and the bow or forward edges of the side sheetsand the rocking or flexible stem to move outwards.

. The links 8 which comprise the rocking or flexible stem and which arearranged to bear up against the rigid stem'Q when the boat is erect moveaway from the rigid stem 2 when the boat isfolded as shown in Fig. 4, aswill be ,readily'understood.

This inward folding of the battens and stiifeners set along portions ofthe sides and deck which remain straight lines in the collapsed and openposition in the manner described in my previous Patent No. 300,366, andthe twist given to the sides and the deflection giventothedeck duringthe process of erection run; perpendicular to the stiffening battens astherein described.

An examination of the drawings will show that the sides 3 tend to betwisted round their line of attachment to the keelson 7, being heldtogether by thestraps 8 along the curved line 9 to form the bowandpressed outwards by the deck towards the stern, thus obtaining therequired sharp entrance at the bow and extreme flatness at the stern tosupport the boat when itis being driven through the water. It is to beunderstood of course that the sides 3 and deck 4, although curvedconsider: ably in the erect position as'shown in Figs. 1 to 3, becomeplane in the collapsed posi-' tion, as indicated in Fig. 5, and thecurve of the gunwale joint 6 is designed so that, the movementof thesides and deck from the erect to the collapsed positions involves asteady flattening of the sides and deck and can be effectedwithoutsevere stress or over: strain either of the sides, deck or'hinges at anypoint. Folding seat or seats may be provided in the cockpit, designed inaccordance with my previous British Patent No. 317,747 and floor, boardsmay be hinged'to the upper part of the keelson 1 to lie down upon thesides 3 when the boat is erect, as provided in my previous BritishPatent No. 300,366, and it is understood that before the boat iscollapsed the said seat or seats are to be folded and the floor boardsrocked to a vertical central position to lie within the space 21- shownin Fig. 4, inside the coamings 13.

An important feature of the construction} consists in covering all thejoints with canvas or other water-proof fabric on their outer sides andin'protecting the said canvas or, fabric against chafing or other damagewhen the boat is erect and in use in a manner anal ogous to theprovision in my previous Brit. ish Patent No. 300,366.

Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate, in'transverse section, on an enlargedscale,'the lower part of; the keelson 1 to which is attached thefalsekeel'17. The method of attaching the sides? to the keelson 1 bymeans of the series of hinges 7, is also clearly shown in these figures.The canvas or fabric 22 which is in one continuous strip through thelength 'of'the boatalong the keel and stem and is shown in trans-'versesection, passes withinthe oint between f the keelson 1 and thefalse keel 17 and is there rigidly fixed along the centre of the strip.The edges of the stripare securely fixed to the. sides of the boat bymeans of waterproof adhesive and the fillets 23, screwed to the side.

sheets 3, thus rendering the joints watertight. The canvas or fabric istaut when the boat is collapsed, Fig. 7, and space is pro vided toaccommodate the slack canvas without risk of damage when the boat iserect as shown in Fig.6.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate in transverse section on an enlarged scale theforward part of the stem 2 against which the straps 8 come into contactwhen'the boat is erect. The strip the sides 3 and the deck 4 and showclearly the series of hinges 5. The canvas or fabric 25 is in acontinuous strip throughout the length of the gunwale on each side ofthe boat. One edge of the canvas strip is secured to the side 3 bywaterproof adhesive. and the fillet 26 and the other edge is secured tothe deck 4 by waterproof adhesive and the fillet 27. The fillet 26 isformed with a projection 28 to deflect the canvas into the recess underthe deck sheet 4 and to prevent the canvas from being caught in thehinge 5 or between the fillets 26 and 27 and the fillets 26 and 27together form a completeprotection for the canvas Fig. 10, when the boatis erect and in use. When the boat is collapsed Fig. 11, the canvas istaut.

The joints along each side of the central deck strip 10 formed by seriesof hinges 11, 12, Fig. 2, are similarly rendered watertight by strips ofcanvas or waterproof fabric and tion. In the case of larger boats anysuitable mechanical means may be employed for lifting the centre of thedeck such as a vertical screw with its lowerend bearing upon the keelson1, turned by a handle and carrying a nut which bears upon the under sideof the central deck strip 10 and to further stiffen the bow when theboat is erect one or more of the straps 8 may be connected together andclamped to the stem 2. g

The engine which is accommodated in the recessed engine bed 16, andwhich is to be removed before the boat is collapsed would be suitablysecured by clamps or thumbscrews for the purpose and would be readilydisengaged from the tail-shaft 19.

Obviously the invention is not limited to the precise form ofconstruction illustrated, many details of which will be subject tovariation at the discretion of the builder in ac-.

cordance with the sizie shape and strength oftheihull or float'to whichthe invention is ap- Pliedm 1 1 5 r What I I claim and desire tov secureby Letters Patent is: g f 1 .11. A1' collapsible: hullxor floatcomprising a keel, folding sides hingedlylconnectedto said keel, a truestem'rigidly connectedfto. said-ykeel, a yieldable stem to whichsaidfolding"'sides are hingedly connected and which is adapted to bemoved towardsand into solid engagement with said true stem, and a'deckformed in two parts hinged to said folding sides.

2. A collapsible hull or float comprising a keel, foldingsides hingedlyconnected to said keel, a true stem rigidly connected to said keel, ayieldable stem to which said fol-ding sides are hingedly connected andwhich is adapted to be moved towards and into solid engagement with saidtrue stem, the after part of said sides being cut away so that the upperand lower edges meet together at an angle substantially as described.

3. A collapsible hull or float formed of resilient material, comprisingsides and a deck hinged together along joints running fore and aft, akeel to which said edges are hinged along their lower edges, and linksconnecting said sides to one another to constitute a. yieldable stemalong the forward part.

4. A collapsible hull or float comprising a rigid keel having a keelportion and a forwardly-inclined forward stem portion extending in acontinuous curve from said keel portion, a pair of collapsible sideshinged to said keel portion, and links by which said sides are hinged toeach other forwardly of said keel portion, whereby a yieldable stem isformed adapted to be engaged with said forward stem portion.

5. A collapsible hull or float comprising a keel, folding sides hingedlyconnected tosaid keel, a true stem rigidly connected to said keel, arocking stem to which said folding sides are hingedly connected andwhich is adapted to be moved towards and into solid engagement with saidtrue stem, and a deck formed in two partshinged together along thecentre and respectively hinged to said folding sides.

6. A collapsible hull or float formed of resilient material andcomprising a keel, a deck claim 1, wherein the lower edges of the sidesextend beyond the region at which they are hinged to the keel androcking stem, and

a strip of. waterproof fabric connected between said lower edges.

9. A collapsible float or hull as claimed in claim 1, wherein a strip ofwaterproof fabric is connected between the respective sides and the deckin such a way as to cover and protect the hinges between said sides andeck.

RICHARD JOHN HARRINGTON HUDSON.

